Tech companies power US stocks to solid weekly gain

NEW YORK - The S&P 500 rose to a new high for the year Friday as resurgent technology stocks closed out their best week in four months with solid gains.

Financial, health care and consumer stocks also helped lift the market. The gains erased losses from last week, when the S&P 500 had its worst week of the year. The benchmark index finished at 2,822.48, up 12.6 percent for the year and down 4 percent from the record level set in September.

Technology stocks had their best week since November. Apple ended the week with a 7.6 percent gain, its best week since August. Industrial stocks lagged the market Friday.

Investors bought bonds after a report on industrial production showed a second consecutive monthly decline in manufacturing in the U.S. That sent the yield on the 10-year Treasury lower. It fell to 2.59 percent from 2.63 late Thursday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 3.90 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,553.54.

Major indexes in Europe and Asia finished higher.

U.S. stocks have had a strong showing this year, with all the major indexes showing a gain of at least 10 percent.

Investors appear to be encouraged by reports that the U.S. and China could be making progress on critical negotiations aimed at resolving a trade war between the world's two biggest economies. China's congress endorsed an investment law that aims to address complaints, particularly from the U.S., that China's system is rigged against foreign companies. The U.S. claims China has forced companies to share technology in order to do business in the country.

Traders are also confident that the Federal Reserve will hold off on any action that could jeopardize economic growth. The central bank, which signaled in January that it was hitting pause on its rate hikes amid a slowdown in global growth and the absence of inflation pressures, is holding a meeting of policymakers next week.

Economists expect the Fed will keep rates on hold. Friday's surge in bond purchases also indicates that investors don't foresee the Fed raising interest rates any time soon.

"There's no chance of a rate hike," said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird.

Chipmakers made up six of the top 10 gainers in the S&P 500 Friday.

Broadcom led the technology sector rally after the chip provider reported a better-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter profit and told investors that it would return $12 billion to stockholders in 2019 through dividends and buybacks. The stock jumped 8.2 percent.

CEO Hock E. Tan expects the chip business to hit a low in the second quarter and then notch growth during the second half of the year. That assessment helped give other chipmakers a lift. Intel added 1.7 percent and Nvidia gained 2.6 percent.

Facebook dropped 2.5 percent on news that two of the social media company's longtime executives are resigning following the company's recent announcement that it will shift its emphasis to private messaging from public sharing.

Shares in Tesla skidded 5 percent following the electric car maker's unveiling of its Model Y, a mid-size SUV that starts at $39,000. The unveiling comes as Tesla tries to expand into the mainstream and cash in on the red-hot market for SUVs.

Boeing shares recovered from an early slide to gain 1.5 percent after a report suggested the aircraft manufacturer will roll out a software fix for its 737 Max airplanes later this month.

The stock has been hammered this week after a 737 Max flown by Ethiopian Airlines crashed Sunday in Ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board. A similar Boeing flown by Lion Air crashed in Indonesia in October, killing 189 people. The U.S. and other countries have since grounded the Boeing 737 Max 8.

Shares in Boeing fell 10.3 percent this week. The stock is still up 14.9 percent for the year.

The dollar fell to 111.48 Japanese yen from 111.73 yen on Thursday. The euro strengthened to $1.1320 from $1.1300.

The price of U.S. crude oil slipped 0.2 percent to settle at $58.52 a barrel, while Brent crude dropped 0.1 percent to close at $67.16 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline rose 0.4 percent to $1.86 a gallon, heating oil slid 0.9 percent to $1.97 a gallon and natural gas gave up 2.1 percent to $2.80 per 1,000 cubic feet.